‘In the middle of a crisis the absence of leadership can quickly become a live issue, and yet what we mean when we invoke the term is hotly disputed.’
My take on leadership is that leaders should be the architects of an organisation. To do this effectively they need to understand in detail how all aspects of a business, in terms of its purpose, principles, policies, systems, processes and people fit together to work harmoniously to achieve desired outputs and goals within a given budget. This means understanding how culture, environment, finance and economy impact on the needs and expectations of a myriad of different personalities, skill sets and styles of working.
It means understanding what is working and what isn't which can only be achieved by working with and talking to the people working on the shop floor and on the front line. I am passionate about elevating the position of every individual who works for an organisation to that of an expert or potential expert. Only the people working on the job in hand know how to get the job done.
This should be seen as a critical obligation of our society - to educate, train and enable every individual to learn by doing things, to achieve a level of competence that over time enables them to become experts in their own right - only then can people take on responsibility, become accountable and ultimately satisfy their need to become good at something, to achieve, to progress and make a valued contribution.
Being a leader, as the term suggests, is therefore a huge undertaking, especially when the existing culture of an organisation is inherently flawed as it often is through the lack of this understanding and/or commitment to properly measure the reality of what is happening and make changes that will align all these facets effectively.
John's Systems Thinking Model of Leadership is probably one of the best definitions I have come across in my many years of studying this subject:
1. Convert principles into practice
To thoroughly understand the principles, and know how to convert theory and knowledge into practice.
2. Working on the work, in the work with the worker
To give energy to the system, leaders must get out of the office and personally lead bits of work. To do this properly requires the application of method to achieve understanding. A leader’s job is to act on and improve the system, something that can’t be done from an office. It requires a thorough knowledge of method and confidence that improvement work is firmly designed against demand.
3. Be purposeful and understand purpose
Have a clear understanding of purpose. The purpose of each individual system and how each relates to the other. Then ensure that everybody understands what each system’s purpose is and what their purpose is in relation to the system.
4. Use measures correctly
To make the correct choices about improvement, to experiment and improve, it is necessary that all decisions are based upon data. Often this comes in the form of measures related to purpose.
5. Protect flow
Another is linked to protecting the system from things that would disrupt flow. In the command and control paradigm, top-down organisations are designed upon the need for control. Control becomes its de-facto purpose (literally keeping people in line).
6. Be honest and open
In command and control organisations many people spend their time putting a good face on the information provided (spinning). Improvement requires honest and open reflection. Honesty and openness, backed up with data should aid reflection and achieve results. Mistakes are okay, especially where people learn from them.
7. Ensure that you remain relevant
Leading pieces of work in each system, understanding purpose and understanding performance in the system most come hand-in-hand with a regular re-evaluation of purpose. Ensure that there is a clear relationship to your strategic purpose and day-to-day operations.
8. Create curiosity
Systems thinking is just that, a thinking thing. Helping people become curious and learning by doing involves leaders designing learning cycles for staff. You have to help people get it.
The Systems Thinking Review
Let's Improve the System - A Systems Thinking Model of Leadership
